Back to Luke (12 page)

“I’m glad it meets with your approval.”

Glancing over at him, she raised her brows. “Grumpy tonight, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, well, I got reason.”

“You do?”

He cocked his head. “You tell me. What happened with Scarborough?”

“A lot.” Her expression became sober. “He had an explanation for why he did what he did to Jess and me.”

“It can’t possibly be good enough.”

“It was. I’ll tell you about it sometime.”

“I can’t wait.” His tone was sarcastic. He moved farther into the room and folded his arms over his chest. “What about the job offer?”

“Ah, now that’s why I came here.” She faced him and licked her lips, newly covered with raisin-colored gloss. “I wanted your opinion. Should I take Ben’s offer, Luke?”

“What do you mean?”

“Do you think I should take the job and move to New York? It’d make the situation between Jess and Naomi better.”

Why was she asking him that? And what should he say? “No, you shouldn’t take it. You shouldn’t go to New York.”

Her smile intensified. “Why not?”

“You know why not.”

“Tell me.”

He covered the distance between them and grasped her arms. The feel of her under his hands made his words come out even more forcefully. “I want you to stay in Riverdale. With me. What happened in the shed was real and, what’s more, I’ve never really gotten over you.”

“Hmm.” She ran her hands up his bare skin, leaned in and sniffed his chest. “Luke, I’d like to see more of the house.”

“What?” She was scrambling his brains. “What part?”

“Your bedroom.” She stood on tiptoe and kissed his lips lightly. “Take me upstairs.”

His answer was to lean over, slide an arm under her legs and the other around her back and scoop her up. “Thank God” was all he said as he cuddled her to his chest and took the steps two at a time.

J
AYNE WAS UNABLE
to think, unable to take in her surroundings as Luke gently placed her on his lake of a bed. He sat down next to her and she reached for him. “Not so fast,” he whispered. “I’m going to look my fill. Touch my fill.”

“I guess you can do that.”

Gently he traced her mouth with a fingertip. When she got the chance, she nipped at it.

“Careful there. We don’t want to rush this.”

He outlined her eyebrows and her jaw. Closing her eyes, she savored his touch. This time, she felt secure in the knowledge that what they were doing came from his heart. Otherwise, he would have encouraged her to go with Ben.

“I was insanely jealous tonight,” he said as he kissed
his way over her collarbone from one shoulder to another. His hair brushed her face and she threaded her fingers through it at the nape.

“Hmm.”

“I hated the thought of him touching you.”

A hesitation. Then, “He didn’t, Luke.”

“Good.” He drew back and brushed her cheek with his knuckles. She could smell the soap from his shower. “I told Elise tonight I couldn’t see her anymore. Because of you.”

“Ah.”

Lowering his head, he took her mouth. Possessed it. Explored the inside. She was breathing hard when he drew back. “So we’re square, right?”

She ran her hands over his shoulders. “Uh-huh. Now, shut up, and get with the program.”

“Aren’t you the romantic?”

“How’s this—I want your hands on me, everywhere. I want your mouth, too.”

“A lot better.” Leaning over, he whispered in her ear, “I want to be inside you, Jayne. Deep, deep inside you.”

“Oh, God.” Her lower body squirmed at his words.

He took the opportunity to grasp the bodice of her dress and draw it down to her waist. She was totally exposed to him. Never unlocking their gazes, he cupped both breasts. Gently kneaded. Again her eyes closed, savoring the moment. He bent his head and began to suckle on a nipple. A bolt of lust shot through her, making her buck. His hands became more urgent, roaming her hot flesh with need.

“Lift up,” he whispered, and she raised her hips so he could whisk the dress off. He shook his head at the only thing she was wearing…a naughty red thong. His
big hands weren’t so gentle when he dragged the scrap of lace off her.

She was bare to him, but instead of being unsure, she basked in his approval—the same approval she’d seen in his eyes years ago and forgotten about.

“You are so lovely, even more than before. You take my breath away.”

“I want to be, for you.” She tugged at the drawstring of his pajama bottoms. “Return the favor.”

His grin was arrogant; he was a man who knew the strength of his own virility. “Whatever you want.” Standing, he dropped his pants. An impressive erection nestled in the curls that matched the hair on his head. His abs were tight, his hips narrow. He was different too, older, but well toned and muscular.

Jayne grasped him boldly. Now,
his
eyes closed, and his hands fisted at his sides. He let her massage him for a few seconds, then drew her away. “Can’t do this, sweetheart.”

“Why? You got to touch me.”

“You know damn well why.” He slid open the drawer, dragged out a condom and offered it to her. “But you can do the honors.”

“My pleasure.”

“Not yet, darlin’. Not yet.”

A
LL TEASING VANISHED
as soon as Luke covered her body with his. It felt so good, he was afraid he was going to come right there and then. He tried to control himself, but he couldn’t, his willpower slipping away by degrees.

“Come inside me, Luke,” she whispered as if she knew. “I’m ready, too.”

He did, with a thrust that was hard and fierce.

“Ohhh…”

“Did I hurt you?”

“No—” He moved inside her. “That feels…” She grabbed his shoulders. “Oh, Luke.”

When he realized how close she was, he pushed harder, faster, until he felt her clench around him and her spasms begin.

He wanted to prolong this, but he couldn’t, and he began to pound into her. Too soon, pleasure burst through him, exploded in his brain, and he erupted inside her.

Jayne opened her eyes, felt his weight, heard his labored breathing and realized his face was buried in her neck.

She cradled his head; he lifted it a minute later. No lines marring his mouth or forehead now, and he was smiling. “You all right?”

“Of course.” She ran her fingertips over his scratchy jaw. “It was wonderful. Even better than I remembered.”

“Glad to hear it. I lost consciousness there at the end.”

“Then it was good?”

“Any more good and I’d be dead. You still pack quite a punch, Jayne Logan.”

“So do you, Luke Corelli.”

His smile was a little boyish. “I wanted it to last longer.”

“Next time.”

Rolling to his side, he quipped, “Give me a minute.”

A chuckle escaped her as she moved into him, nestling her head in the crook of his arm. Absently he brushed her hair. She did the same to his chest.

He broke the silence. “What happened?”

She could pretend to misunderstand, tease, but she didn’t. “I thought about it all week and listened to what you said in the trailer. I realized I had a knee-jerk
reaction to Jess’s accusations. Then you acted like such an idiot at the site when Ben came, I figured you were sincere in the shed.”

“I was.” He kissed her head.

“I’m glad.” She sat up a bit and propped her forearms on his chest. “When Ben implied we might pick up where we left off, I knew I didn’t want that. I wanted you.”

“I want more than
this.
”

“You said you needed a minute.”

He kissed her nose. “I don’t mean
that.
”

“What do you want, Luke?” she asked directly.

“To see where this goes between us. I want you to stay in town and agree to pursue an exclusive relationship with me.”

“All right, I will. But things are still a mess with me. It’s not going to be a cakewalk.”

“Well, since I’m so easygoing, I should be a good foil.”

“Yeah, right.”

“I’ll help you through it, sweetheart.”

“Okay.” Again, she laid her head on his chest, the gesture tender and meaningful. And she told him the whole story of Ben and what had happened. He simply smoothed down her hair and listened.

When she finished, he asked, “So you forgive him?”

“Uh-huh. I hope Jess does, too.” She waited, then asked him something she’d wanted to know since she’d come back to Riverdale and found him here. “Luke, tell me about your life for the last twelve years. Why haven’t you ever married?”

T
HIS WAS GOING
to be hard to talk about, but he’d try, for Jayne and the sake of their relationship. “After you left, I was shocked by how much I missed you.”

“I wouldn’t have guessed that.”

“Well, I did.”

“Didn’t you date anyone else?”

“Yes. I got involved with a woman in New York about six months later.” He shrugged. “It took me a long time to figure out it was a rebound relationship. After we got engaged and I asked her to come to Riverdale with me, I was relieved when she said no.”

“Why?”

“I guess you were still in my blood, even then. Like I said, I missed you.” He kissed her bare shoulder. “A lot.”

“I missed you, too, though I told myself I didn’t.”

“Anyway, as I said the other night, Timmy was on the skids and I hadn’t realized it was so bad. But instead of forgetting about you and helping him, I was a bastard to live with. I threw myself into my work. Ignored warning signs, like I told you the night of Eleanor’s party. Then, when Timmy died and I came here, I could never establish a relationship that lasted.”

“Because you felt guilty about Timmy?”

“Or because I was in an emotional coma. Hell, who knows? Maybe after I lost Timmy I was afraid to get too close to
anybody
again. It wasn’t until you came to town that I admitted how much I’d cared about
you.
” He was quiet for a few moments. “That’s probably a better explanation of why I never got married.”

“I…I’m flattered.”

“You should be.”

“Ah, I love your modesty.”

He kissed her hard. “So that’s my story. What about you? Are all the guys in California blind?”

She chuckled, then sobered. “I don’t even know where to begin. After what happened with Ben, I was
terrified of having a relationship. Then you came along, and when my feelings for you intensified, I panicked. I grew up emotionally stunted, Luke. Not encouraged to care about people like you do. It’s one of the things that I loved most about you and that scared me at the same time.” She sighed heavily. “It’s why I left without talking to you first. I knew you could convince me to stay, and I wasn’t ready to take any more risks.”

“I knew you were upset about the bind your firm was in.”

“Yeah, it wasn’t like the incident at Cornell, but I worked on the project in question and was afraid they’d implicate me somehow.”

“That’s understandable, sweetheart.”

She looked up at him. “It’s so ironic. I’ve been obsessed about unfair allegations my entire adult life, and what do I do? I make a mistake and get a fair one.” She swallowed hard. “I still can’t believe it.”

“Let’s make a deal. We’ll try to let the past go, try not to blame ourselves for mistakes we’ve made.”

“Can you do that about Timmy?”

“I can try.”

“Then so can I. It’s a deal.”

After a while, he could feel his body let go of its tension. “What about our other deal?”

“What?” she murmured against his chest.

“To make love slow, to take our time?”

“Hmm, I can’t renege on a deal.”

He flipped her over. Before he touched her, he whispered, “Thanks, Jayne. For being so honest.”

She just smiled.

And continued to smile for the next hour.

So did Luke.

J
AYNE WHIPPED
off the covers and swung her feet to the floor. From the other side of the bed, an arm snaked around her waist, holding her in place. “Not so fast.” Luke’s voice was morning husky.

She glanced over her shoulder and smiled at the sight of him. His eyes were still closed, his head buried in the pillows, his bare back wide and tanned.

“I have to go.”

“No way,” he mumbled and tightened his grasp. “More sleep. It’s Saturday.”

She took a second to smooth down his dark hair, run her fingers over his beard-scratchy jaw. She never thought she’d be with him again like this, hadn’t admitted how much she missed it, but now her feelings surfaced full force. “I have to get back to Eleanor’s. It’s ten, and Jess is due home this morning.”

Burying his face further, Luke said, “I’ll come.”

“Um, no, you can’t. Ben’s meeting me there at eleven.”

Luke’s eyes snapped open. “The hell he is.”

She kissed his cheek. “I told him last night I didn’t want a relationship with him. But Jessie might, and I said I’d be there when Ben talks to him that there’s someone else in my life.”

Rolling to his back, framed by brown sheets, with the sun coming in through the skylights above, Luke looked so good her heart swelled in her chest. “I want to be with you when you tell Jess about us.”

“All right. Maybe that’s a good idea, since he needs to know we were involved in New York. Come over around one.” She cocked her head. “You didn’t have plans today, did you?”

“Nope.” In a sudden move, he hiked himself up, grabbed her shoulders and kissed her hard. “I’m all yours, sweetheart.”

I hope so.
She didn’t say the words aloud, but she meant them in her heart. Last night had been wonderful and special, and she felt such a connection to Luke it frightened her. But she quelled the doubts. Time to think positively.

Once she arrived at the house on Fifth Street, Jayne found a note on the counter saying Eleanor was at a church meeting. Jayne had called the older woman the night before to say she wouldn’t be home. Poor Eleanor probably thought she was with Ben. Jayne didn’t correct the assumption because she wanted to keep her relationship with Luke to themselves for a while, except for Jess, and especially around the site. A private person by nature, she didn’t want to have to deal with what other people thought of them as a couple. Luke hadn’t been happy about that but had reluctantly agreed.

Hurriedly, Jayne showered. After changing into a yellow cotton sundress, she was sipping strong black coffee in Luke’s gazebo, going through a stack of magazines, when Jess appeared on the porch of the house. He called out, “Hi, Jaynie. Let me get some coffee. I’ll be right there.”

As she waited for Jess, she watched the birds chirp and skitter at the feeder, basking in the warm early summer morning, just like Jayne was doing. Jess came back outside, took the porch stairs at a clip and covered the distance to the gazebo with a spring in his step. He dropped down on one of the benches across from her. Up close, framed by Luke’s loving gift to Eleanor, Jess’s shoulders were more relaxed and his face less lined with stress than they had been when he left.

“You look better,” she said. “More at peace.”

“I am. The time away was good for me. I figured some things out.”

“I’m so glad. Tell me.”

Cupping the mug in his hands, Jess stared at a nest that a bird was building in the rafters. Finally, he said, “I lost sight of certain things these past few weeks. I love Naomi, and I’m going to work on our relationship until we get it right. I’m moving home today, if she’ll have me.”

“I think that’s best.”

He faced her fully. “I’m not abandoning you, Jaynie. I’ll be here for you, too. There’s got to be a way to work this out if we all try hard enough.”

Giving him an encouraging smile, she said, “You just worry about yourself and your family. I’m okay.”

He studied her face. “You look better, too.”

“I am.”

“Why?”

“Finish what you were saying first.”

“I’m embarrassed about what I did to Luke. He’s my best friend, and I attacked him. What’s more, I had no right to say what I did about him. Don’t get me wrong, he isn’t above doing whatever he has to in order to get his way, but if he was using you, he did it with a good heart.”

“He wasn’t using me, Jess.”

“I sincerely hope not. In any case, I’ll apologize to him right away. The rift between us over you has to end.”

“I’m sure that will make him feel better.” She glanced at her watch. “He’s coming here about one.”

“That surprises me.”

Oh, just wait.
“I have to talk to you about something else.”

“What?”

From behind Jess, she saw Ben walk into the backyard, where she’d told him to meet her. Today, he dressed in casual slacks, Dockers and a golf shirt, but his expression was anything but relaxed. Obviously, Ben was nervous.

Before Jess noticed him, Jayne said simply, “Jessie, Ben Scarborough’s in town. We talked last night, and he’s here to see you.”

“What? Ben’s in town?”

“Actually, he’s standing behind you.”

His head whipped around and Jess saw the person who had been almost as good a friend to him as Luke and Timmy. The two men stared at each other, neither moving, not saying a word.

Please let this be a good idea,
Jayne whispered in silent prayer.

A
T TWELVE-THIRTY
—hell, he couldn’t wait any longer—Luke drove over to Miss Ellie’s. He didn’t go around front and ring the doorbell; he’d seen a fancy rental car and Jess’s Jeep in the driveway, so he figured the big pow wow between Jess and Scarborough was going on. He’d guessed they’d be in the house and he planned to
wait in the back, where he found Jayne alone in the gazebo.

Since she didn’t notice him, he took a minute to study her: she looked so pretty in her yellow outfit, leafing through a magazine. Bright rays snuck in below the roof, bathing her in sunlight. For a minute, he was overcome by what he felt for her; something had happened between them last night besides the sex—something, as he’d told her, that hadn’t happened with any woman but her. And Luke welcomed it, embraced it, rejoiced in it.

When he neared the structure, she looked up. And he saw in her eyes and in the intimate smile she gave him that she felt the same way he did. That knowledge only enhanced his feelings. “Hi, love,” he said meaningfully.

“Hi, there.”

When he reached her, he tipped her chin and kissed her, tasting her sweetness. “Everything okay?”

“Jess is back. Ben’s inside with him.”

“I figured.” He dropped down next to her. “How’d Jess react when he saw Scarborough?”

“He was stunned. I don’t know how he’ll feel about what Ben has to say. They went inside right away.”

Picking up her hand, he smoothed it with his thumb. Her skin was always velvet soft. Feminine. And she smelled great. “Was the retreat good for him?”

“Yes. He’s going back to Naomi.”

“That’s great news.”

“It is. Combined with Ben’s apology, Jess will be happier, Luke, I know it.”

“Even when he finds out about us?”

“I think we can manage that one.”

Bringing her hand to his mouth, he kissed it, then
laced their fingers. “I want it to be good between us this time, Jayne. To stay good.”

She put her head on his shoulder in a tender gesture that made his heart stutter. “I want that, too.”

Thank the good Lord. Luke had no time to wallow in their declarations, though, because Jess exited the house alone, let the back door slam and headed for them. When he reached the gazebo and saw them together as they were—close, with hands linked—he shook his head. “This is a surprise. Jeez, they’re popping up all over the place this morning.”

“It’s a good one, Jess,” Jayne whispered. “I promise.”

When Jess remained silent, Luke added, “Me, too, buddy. I promise it is.”

R
OSA
C
ORELLI WAS
a solidly built woman with salt-and-pepper hair and a nice smile, if and when it graced her face. She’d given birth to five children who resembled her with their dark hair and eyes, but every one of them was taller. Wearing simple tan pants and a pink blouse, Rosa sat across from Jayne at Sunday dinner, the scent of spicy marinara sauce and pasta filling their lovely home.

It was obvious that Rosa also held sway with each and every one of her offspring—including Luke. He was seated next to Jayne, his dad next to him. His sisters and their respective husbands lined the rest of the table—Belle’s spouse Nick and Teresa’s Jonathan, but not Cal Sorvino. The kids were outside, eating the hot dogs their grandpa had roasted for them.

Rosa took a bead on her son. “We all went to St. Mary’s this morning, Luciano. Except you.”

Luke nudged Jayne with his leg. At the time, she
knew, he’d been in bed with her. She hoped her face didn’t color, but she stared down at her plate just in case. It was filled with mounds of spaghetti and meatballs, and she’d been trying to put a dent in it.

“Sorry, Mama. Maybe next time.”

His father, the elder Luciano, was a solid, working-class glassblower, now retired. He squeezed his wife’s hand where it rested on the table. “Not in front of his girl, Rosa.”

His girl.
Jayne warmed to the term. But when she glanced up, she couldn’t help but notice that Luke’s sisters exchanged arched eyebrows and frowns and one of them cleared her throat. In truth, Jayne had been scared spitless about coming to the Corelli Sunday dinner, and it was as hard as she’d thought it would be when they’d arrived just in time to eat. But when Luke had asked her to accompany him, in that soft, coaxing way of his, she’d been helpless to deny him. For a moment, she’d panicked about the power he held over her. It had only been a week since Ben had come to town, a week since she and Luke had made love again and reawakened old feelings that she believed she was ready to accept now.

“Jayne,” Belle said calmly. She was closest to Luke and also Naomi, but she’d been the kindest today. “Does your family attend church?”

“Yes.” She told them where. Rosa didn’t look happy about the Methodist part.

“God says the way to heaven has many paths,” Luciano pronounced and stood. “Now, I think dinner is over. Very good sauce, Rosa,
mi amore.
Nick, Johnny, Luke, let’s go to the backyard and check on my grandchildren. We can take a look at my tomato plants while we’re there.”

Luke shot a worried glance at Jayne, which heightened her unease. “I’ll help the girls clean up,” he said.

“Since when?” Corky, the oldest, stood too. “You go out and keep an eye on the kids. Mama, you come into the kitchen and sit.” Corky seemed to fall into the oldest sibling role easily, making Jayne wish she had sisters.

Standing, Luke reached for Jayne’s hand. “Jayne can come with me.”

“No,” the girls said at once.

Corky added, “The five of us will clean up.”

Luke gave Jayne a puppy-dog look and followed the other men out.

Swallowing back her discomfort, Jayne rose and picked up plates. With all of them helping, they cleared the table quickly. The kitchen was big but homey, with two stoves, an oversize refrigerator and a huge table in the center, where Rosa did indeed take a seat. Corky crossed to the sink, where a triple window overlooked the backyard, ran water and began to rinse dishes. She was heavier than the others but had the best hair: a shiny dark brown with natural curl. She’d seemed preoccupied all during the meal, though, and when she glanced outside, appeared wistful. Again, Jayne wondered why Cal hadn’t come to dinner. She hoped nothing was wrong, but she’d found Cal to be up and down in his moods.

Teresa, the next oldest, petite, pretty and sporting an almost black braid down her back, began to scrape the dishes and hand them to her sister. Maria, the business-woman, divorced, stored the food and efficiently ordered Belle, the prettiest, to make espresso and put cookies on the table.

She also handed Jayne a towel. “You dry.”

They went about their business in utter silence, during which Jayne caught all of them giving her not-so-surreptitious glances. She kept her head down or her gaze averted, and prayed this awkward ordeal would soon be over. She was going to kill Luke for leaving her alone to face his sisters, no matter that he’d tried to prevent it.

When they finished cleaning up, Rosa sniffed. “She did okay. She didn’t buckle under pressure.”

Corky wiped her hands on a towel and turned to face Jayne. “She’s tougher than she looks.”

Teresa chuckled and addressed Jayne. “The others have run out on us to join the guys when we gave them the silent treatment.”

Relief pumped through Jayne. “You do this to all Luke’s girlfriends?”

“He hasn’t brought that many home,” Belle told her gently. She crossed to the table. “Come sit. We won’t bite your head off.”

“Well, that’s a relief.” Jayne was totally unbalanced by these formidable women in Luke’s life but was trying not to show it. Seated with the five of them around the table, sipping the espresso Teresa had served, she waited to see what they would say to her.

“I’ll start.” This from Belle. “Luke’s a wonderful man, Jayne, but he has a controlling streak.” She rolled her eyes. “He thinks he can fix everything.”

“I know. It’s been directed at me more than once.”

Again, Teresa jumped in. “He’s got the biggest heart of anybody I know, but he’s stubborn.”

“Yep, I agree.” Jayne shrugged. “I can handle that.”

Maria took her turn. “He’s great with our kids, but needs a family of his own.”

Biting her lip, Jayne squelched a giggle. “If you’re going to ask my intentions, I
am
going to bolt.”

Rosa smiled, then grew serious. “My boy’s complicated. And he’s never gotten over Timmy dying.”

“He blames himself,” Jayne said. “He told me all about it.”